Battery questions on new to me Ranger

[Hotlz]

Picked up a used 619 (yes I know it's not a bass boat, but I believe irrelevant to my questions) for a smoking deal last fall. It has a 24v minnkota TM in it, powered by 2 12v group 31 interstates, and an interstate agm 31 for the cranking battery. I'd like to upgrade to a minnkota 36v trolling motor and lithiums at some point and have some questions.

First off, I was surprised to see that on one of the two trolling motor batteries there were a lot of connections besides the tm. From memory as the boat is in storage, beside the tm, series connection, and charger, there were like 4 more. I believe one was for automatic bilge pump, one was the power steering pump for the verado, another for starting the kicker, and at least one or two more I'm not sure what they went to. Maybe perko switch connections, can't remember rn.

So if I went to a 36v battery for my trolling motor, which would be my preference over 3 12v in series, I'd then have to put everything that was on that tm battery onto my cranking 12v battery. Would it be able to handle that load or would I need another battery as a house battery? I run a 9 and and a 12 lowrance and a live well also. Or would it be better to run 3 12v batteries and make those connections to one of them? However if I do that, will the batteries become imbalanced, or won't it matter if I'm charging them all individuallly?

Couple more things that may pertain - I've read that if you run the kicker, then the power sttering pump is running so you can steer with the console wheel using the connecting rod to both motors. Problem is the 9.9 kicker doesn't have a big enough alternator to charge the battery that the PS pump is pulling from so you can draw the battery down. I don't run the kicker a lot, but occasionally,and don't want to have to worry about a dead battery if I do. The other is my perko switch is wired so you can set it to both batteries for a jump if needed. Never had to use it, but I'm assuming I could not do that with a lithium 12v if I went that route correct?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of this. Thanks.

[jc2bg]

Those are a lot of questions, and some of them might be semi-unique to multi-species boats like the 619. First off, it is unusual on *bass boats* for accessories to be connected to a trolling battery. Your explanation of the charging issue relating to the kicker engine might explain why it is wired that way on your 619, but of course, bass boats rarely ever have kicker engines. Having said this, if I were you I’d either beeline to a dealer experienced in wiring boats like yours or at least make a call to such a dealer. They could be a big help with regard to the power needs for a multi-engine setup. How to rig the battery jump switch is another issue that can be complicated. Again, I’d want an expert to visually check this to eliminate problems on the water.

Looking at the broad picture, not just your specific boat’s wiring, most believe it is best to go with multiple 12-volt trolling batteries rather than one big 36-volt unit, because if one 12-volt fails, replacements can be found anywhere. Much harder to locate a quick replacement with a single 36-volt. Another relevant thought is that a lithium cranking battery might be more useful to you than lithium trolling batteries. A 100-125 amp-hour cranking battery holds voltage sufficient to start your engine/s significantly deeper into a discharge cycle than lead-acid or AGM batteries. The cranking battery needs to get us home….

Good luck. I’m sure there are good multi-species boat dealers in your area, but if not, here near Lake Erie I could make suggestions of some to call.